WorldWide Religious News

Oliver Stone's son converts to Islam in Iran("Jerusalem Post," February 15, 2012)

Jerusalem, Israel - Sean Stone, the son of acclaimed film director Oliver Stone converted to Islam in Iran on Tuesday in a ceremony in the city of Isfahan.

Stone, a filmmaker like his Oscar-winning father, told AFP that "the conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with. It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets."

The 27-year-old, whose father is Jewish and whose mother is Christian is in Iran filming a documentary.

Iranian media reported that Stone converted to Shi'ite Islam and has changed his first name to Ali.

According to the Tehran Times, Stone traveled to Iran in September to search for locations on a film he was shooting on the poet Rumi and Persian mysticism. The Times quoted Stone as saying that he needed to study Persian culture in order to get a feeling for its rituals and traditions.

Earlier this month, Stone was a participant in the Hollywoodism and Cinema conference in Tehran, where he was honored by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Sean's father Oliver ruffled feathers in July 2010 when he gave an interview to Britain's Sunday Times in which he downplayed the Holocaust, defended Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and complained about Jewish influence in the United States.

He told the newspaper that “Hitler did far more damage to the Russians than the Jewish people, 25 or 30 million.” He discussed what he called “Jewish domination of the media,” and said Israel had “f***** up United States foreign policy for years.”

Stone later apologized for the comments after being criticized by Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League.